vieillesvsvieillotWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vieilles” and “vieillot” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,391
“vieilles” frequency rank
#42,678
“vieillot” frequency rank
47069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vieilles vieillot
Definition Féminin pluriel de vieux. Qui a un air de vieillesse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vieilles and vieillot apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
vieilles
8 ch
vieillot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vieilles (\vjɛj\) and vieillot (\vjɛ.jo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vieilles is recorded at frequency rank #4,391, classified as anadj, pronounced \vjɛj\. vieillot is at rank #42,678, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vjɛ.jo\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 47069, this pair ranks #189,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vieilles vs vieillot

Shared letters: eilv. Private to "vieilles": s. Private to "vieillot": ot.

"vieilles" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCVC  ·  "vieillot" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vieillesiveilles · veiilles · vieilels · vieiles · vieilless · vieillse · vieliles · viielles
  • vieillotiveillot · veiillot · vieillott · vieillto · vieilolt · vieilot · vielilot · viiellot

Frequency comparison

vieilles#4,391
vieillot#42,678

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vieilles" and "vieillot" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\vjɛj\ versus \vjɛ.jo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vieilles" or "vieillot"?
"vieilles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,391 in our French list, against #42,678 for "vieillot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vieilles vs vieillot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vieilles” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list